Chapter 14: The capital.

Leo rushed to the window where Hazel jumped from, aiming to jump but quickly turned around when he remembered the pain between his legs. He rushed downstairs where he found his brother rushing out as well.

"What happened? I heard a commotion," Sebastian asked but Leo didn't respond to him and ran all the way to the back.

He managed to get there when Hazel was jumping over the picket fence and his eyes widened as he tried running after her. But the woman was much faster than he was and he eventually lost her.

His nostrils flared as he gritted his teeth, looking around in the dark to find no sign of the woman who had outran him twice! His eyes were hard and his jaw clenched, but he had no choice but to turn around and go back.

When he returned to the inn, his men surrounded Sebastian and one of the guards. Sebastian was dressing the guard's wound where he had been stabbed by Hazel.

Leo's anger returned when he saw the wound and his hands clenched to fists.

"Your highness," the men chorused when they saw him.

Leo walked over to examine the man's hand. The wound was a bit deep and he still seemed to be in pain but it had already been disinfected.

"Your highness, did that thief take anything from you? We'll go and find her," Reuben suggested, sticking his chest out bravely. He was enjoying a couple of beers when Hazel escaped but the injured man already told them what happened. How dare a woman break into the crown Prince's room! She ought to be punished!

"It's fine Reuben. She didn't take anything," Leo said, irritation evident in his voice and his grim expression.

Sebastian gave him a curious glance but said nothing and continued bandaging the wound.

Afterwards everyone was dismissed to go to sleep and Sebastian and Leo climbed up the stairs to their respective rooms.

"Ah, can't believe you were robbed by a woman again," Sebastian teased with a quirk of his lips. Leo sent him a hard glare and he chuckled amusedly.

"Wait, was it the same woman?"

As a response, a muscle in Leo's jaw ticked and Sebastian's eyes widened in disbelief then his head bobbed up and down. "She's truly brave. Robbing a prince twice."

Leo hated the amusement in his brother's voice but didn't say anything to rebuke him. While his brother thought the woman was brave, he thought she was quite daring. He had missed the surprise in Hazel's eyes earlier so he believed she knew he was a prince, further annoying him. No one had infuriated him like the woman did despite not knowing who she was and having seen her only twice.

The brothers parted ways and Leo walked into his room with a solemn look. He had intended to take that dagger back to his father but now it was gone, along with his necklace.

Just as he was deep in thought, rustling sounds came from the open window and he walked towards it with furrowed eyebrows. He found a pigeon standing on the window pane and Leo immediately recognised the bird. His eyebrows relaxed and he untied the small piece of paper tied to the bird's leg and read the contents of the message.

"Return soon" two simple words were stated and he knew it was his father. A sigh left his lips as he held the bird in his hands and let it fly away.

****

It took three days to travel from Hawksley to the capital and the experience was dreadful for Hazel. Riding a horse for such long hours made her legs numb with pain and she regretted every minute.

Despite their awkward first meeting, Martin and Lewis proved to be wonderful company. They shared stories about their lives in the capital, and also in the training center. Master Finley mostly kept to himself and only talked when it was necessary. This didn't surprise Hazel because she always knew him to be a man of few words.

They would rest at night and travel by day allowing Hazel to appreciate nature and her freedom. She hadn't traveled much beyond Drakin, her hometown, and other neighboring towns like Hawksley, and she was amazed by the extensive, flourishing lands of Kragon.

The third day was when they arrived at the capital and amazement was an understatement for what Hazel felt. There was a daunting wall and an iron town gate shielding the town. Before they even rode in, Hazel was already marveling at the structure of the capital.

The small towns didn't have things like walls and gates.

Her eyes roamed around the bustling town which had more people than she had ever seen. Unlike the marketplaces she was used to where everything was built closely together, in the capital the stalls were orderly lined on the side of the streets, allowing enough space for carriages and horses and all sorts of public and private transport to pass through.

Women wore fine dresses made of silk and men were adorned in impeccable suits. Even the merchants wore decent clothes and the entire place was just neat.

'No wonder it's the capital,' Hazel thought inwardly as she grinned from ear to ear. She couldn't help but wonder if her uncle ever set foot in the capital of Kragon. Since she was a child, they had never relocated from Drakin and she didn't know any other relatives. Uncle Thomas used to tell her that he and her mother were brought up in Algarve but he never gave her details.

"You look like an excited child," Lewis's comment brought her attention to him and her smile widened.

"Well I've never been to the capital," she said, a hint of a smile in her voice.

"Oh, I didn't know that. Where did you live before?" Lewis asked curiously.

Hazel's eyes lowered. "Drakin."

Lewis and Martin seemed puzzled by her answer while Finley remained expressionless. One would think he wasn't with them because he barely said a word or had a reaction to any of their conversations.

"Drakin? Where is that? I've never heard of it," Lewis probed, glancing at Martin to see the same confusion in his eyes.

"Neither have I. Is it in Kragon?" Martin queried earnestly.

Hazel didn't seem surprised that they didn't know Drakin. Not many people did.

"It's at the border of Kragon and Algarve. Not many people know the place because it's a small town," she explained calmly.

By now they had already passed the first marketplace and were navigating the town where there were more buildings than stalls. Each place seemed to be an improvement of the last, from the appearance of the people and the tidiness of the streets.

"Oh, I think I know it now if it's at the border. I didn't think the town still existed. They say there was a massacre a few years ago and it was almost extinct," said Lewis.

A frown marred Hazel's forehead. She had thought about her hometown a lot during the years, and her fear of the place ceasing to exist resurfaced when she heard Lewis's words. She looked at Finley to see if he had any reaction to that and found the man staring at her. They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, Hazel searching for answers but finding none in Finley's emotionless eyes.

Hazel looked away, feeling her mood turn sour. The rest of the ride she was absentminded and barely registered anything around her.

"Watch out!" Lewis yelled at her and Hazel looked up with wide eyes. A boy of about six fell in front of her and she almost ran him over. She pulled at the reins and the horse's front legs raised in the air.

Martin was already on his feet and walked towards the startled child.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he helped the boy up.

Hazel's horse steadied itself but she didn't jump down like Martin. She just watched like a passerby as a woman walked over with hurried steps and took the boy's hand rashly.

"Apologies," she ducked her head and Martin nodded before the woman and the boy walked away. He mounted his horse and they resumed their journey.

They rode in silence for a long while until they left the bustling town behind and entered a path with more desolate but magnificent homes. The people walking around became scarce and polished carriages and strong, beautiful horses crossed their path more. Hazel was no longer overjoyed and watched everything with a flat expression.

"That leads to the palace," Lewis informed, his chin pointed at a clear path.

Hazel followed his line of sight and her gaze hardened as memories from the past flooded her mind.

"Hazel Troyanda. You're here for an attempted murder on the second prince of Kragon. Do you acknowledge your sins?" The warden asked with mockery, his hands behind his back and his posture straight.

The question gave Hazel the impression of a priest imploring a criminal about to be executed. She could barely see anything through her swollen eyes but she turned her head to him. Her hands were chained above her and her legs barely touched the ground.

She glared at the warden and her face scrunched up before she spat out a mouthful of blood right beside him. The warden just smiled coldly and a whip landed on Hazel's back.

Her back arched and her head tilted back but she ground her teeth and refused to make a sound.

The warden chuckled humorlessly as he used a handkerchief to wipe the blood stains on his shoes.

"Hazel Troyanda. Do you confess to trying to murder the second prince of Kragon?" He asked again but Hazel gave no response.

Another whip landed on her back and this time a tear fell from her eye as she tried to suppress the scream that rose to her throat.